Within fashion, sewing, and textile classrooms it is a challenge to find a textbook, let alone credible video tutorials, on the topic of sewing that covers the range of skills and techniques taught within these learning spaces. Typically, instructor-created handouts are used to supplement virtual and in-person demonstrations. Catherine and Heather have both experienced similar frustrations in the search for credible and reliable sewing, textiles and fashion teaching resources for learners, and have found there to be a dearth of Open Education Resources (OER) in this field. Together they are developing a sewing focused OER to support fashion and textiles education at multiple levels.
The open and online format of this OER enables educators to continually update the resource to meet current student needs, course learning outcomes, and reflect best practices within the apparel and fashion industry. Content in this OER supports skills and knowledge learned within the classroom while providing resources for further building. This unique contribution to the field of OER aims to meet the needs of applied fashion education.
In this session we explore the format that this OER is taking, the student involvement in putting it together, the initial foundational steps we took to establish a framework from which to build, and addressing resource challenges in the field.
After participating in this session, attendees will be able to:
- Identify how an OER might be created and used to address resource challenges in a subject area
- Consider and plan for practical application of theoretical knowledge when creating a OER for an applied learning subject
- Explore how open education resources might be used to create further connections and collaboration at multiple levels of education within sewing and fashion education
